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Spain May Ask for EU Bank Aid This Weekend: Hot Trends

NEW YORK (
TheStreet) -- Popular searches on the Internet include Spain as the country is expected to ask the European Union for aid for its struggling banks over the weekend.

Finance ministers of the European Union are expected to hold a conference call on Saturday to discuss a potential aid package for Spain and will issue an announcement following the call. Spanish government spokespeople have not confirmed reports of a conference call or a pending announcement of financial rescue.

Spain would become the fourth country in the eurozone to receive financial rescue, following Greece, Ireland and Portugal, though the aid would most likely be focused on Spain's banking sector alone.

Olympus is trending as former CEO Michael Woodford won his lawsuit against the company for unlawful firing and discrimination. He will receive 10 million pounds ($15.4 million) in the settlement.

Following board approval, Olympus revealed the figure it would be paying to Woodford on Friday. The company also announced it will shed 2,700 jobs, or 7% of its global work force, in order to cut costs.

Woodford was fired in October 2011 after he blew the whistle on an accounting scandal at the company. Olympus has admitted to hiding 117.7 billion yen ($1.5 billion) in investment losses since the 1990s.

Insider trading is another popular search. Japan's securities regulator is recommending a fine of more $180,000 against
First New York Securities for insider trading.

The fine dates back to a 2010 public share offering by
Tokyo Electric Power, or Tepco. A sharp selloff in the company's shares prior to the offering suggested inside information had been leaked. The Japanese securities regulator said a First New York Securities trader found out about Tepco's offering. The trader's source was a securities consultancy who was connected to an employee at the offering's lead underwriter.

Though the underwriter has not been named, Japanese brokerage firm
Nomura Holdings(NMR - Get Report) has acknowledged its involvement in the case, apologized and said it is cooperating fully in the investigation.

First New York Securities hasn't commented yet on the regulator's recommendations.

The chatter on Main Street (a.k.a. Google, Yahoo! and other search sites) is always of interest to investors on Wall Street. Thus, each day, TheStreet compiles the stories that are trending on the Web, and highlights the news that could make stocks move.

-- Written by Brittany Umar.

Brittany joined TheStreet.com TV in November 2006 after completing a degree in Journalism and Media Studies at Rutgers College. Previously, Brittany interned at the local ABC affiliate in New York City WABC-TV 7 where she helped research and produce On Your Side, a popular consumer advocacy segment.

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